They wanted an epic Biblical image, or one from a Greek myth. He gave them a painting of a modern-day funeral.
Death + afterlife
Night and day, rough and polish—this chapel embodies opposition and traps the viewer in a moment of transition.
Michelangelo, Medici Chapel (New Sacristy)
Even in death, great Roman families were concerned with reinforcing and projecting their status.
Tomb of the Scipios and the sarcophagus ...
Uniting ancient Greek purity with Gothic daring, this church marked a new direction for French architecture.
Soufflot, The Panthéon (Church of Ste-Geneviève), Paris
Dante’s vision of Hell inspired generations of artists—and his words still feed imaginations today.
Dante’s Divine Comedy in Late Medieval and ...
Rats spread plague throughout the streets of Europe. Society turned upside down—but the Renaissance lay ahead.
The Black Death
1400 years ago, Anglo-Saxons hauled a ship up a hilltop and buried their king and his treasure within.
Sutton Hoo Ship Burial (video)
Below Rome’s streets lie shelves of tombs. Buried among the dead are early examples of Christian art.
Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome
As tall as a person, this pot is covered with geometric patterns and early figural representations.
Dipylon Amphora
Below the great citadel of Mycenae, a passage into a hillside leads to a massive beehive-shaped tomb.
The Treasury of Atreus
See the mastery of form developed in the Classical period translated to private art on this solemn gravestone.
Grave stele of Hegeso
A powerful accumulation of names is inscribed on slabs of reflective stone that cuts into the earth on the Mall.
Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Found in large numbers in burials, these Chinese carvings constitutes an enormous effort by skilled craftsman.
Jade Cong
Did Hunefer live an ethical life? See the judgment of the Egyptian gods—who weigh Hunefer’s heart.
Hunefer’s Judgement in the presence of Osiris
Monumental figures like these apostles hadn’t been seen since ancient Rome. What sensitivity to rhythm and color!
Pietro Cavallini, The Last Judgment
Christ sits as Judge, separating the blessed from the damned. In Hell, money lenders—like Scrovegni—appear hanged.
Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel (part 4 of ...
An unassuming brick exterior belies the luminous mosaics within. In one, a young, beardless Christ tends his flock.
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Monks, or modern dancers? Robes dwarf these hooded men, but outsized drapery befits their monumental expressivity.
Claus Sluter (with Claus de Werve), Mourners
Though this looks like an exhibit in a natural history museum, Hirst’s subject comes straight from art history.
Damien Hirst, The Physical Impossibility of Death ...
Just another day in Hell. Bosch’s seemingly endless representations of pain and suffering betray his dark vision.